1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to operating units which in the nautical field in general and in particular on pleasure boats, both sailing and motor boats, are used to produce electric power.
2. Description of Related Art
As is known, on boats of the type mentioned above, the electricity for uses on board is customarily generated by suitable operating units, consisting essentially of an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine, to which it is connected directly, or by way of known mechanical reduction systems, an electrical machine; the latter is in most cases an alternator, which therefore produces alternating current, but it may also be a dynamo which thus generates direct current.
For the sake of brevity reference will mainly be made to operating units with an alternator, but the considerations set forth shall however be understood to apply also to units provided with a dynamo.
The diesel engine of these units is normally cooled with sea water; to this end it is equipped with its own pump which circulates the water inside it and then provides to expel water from the same exhaust of the engine combustion gases.
The alternator, on the other hand, is generally air-cooled and for this purpose is provided with a ventilating fan which causes air from the external environment to lick the electrical windings.
However, there are water-cooled alternators which instead of forced ventilation means have a pump for the circulation of cooling water.
It is easy to understand that the operating units designed in this manner serve only to perform the function of generating electric power for use on board; it should however be borne in mind that although they are produced in a fairly simple and compact form, for their installation it is nevertheless necessary to provide conditions and infrastructure works (spaces, sea intakes and pipes for the cooling water, exhausts for the fumes, and so on) essential for their operation.
Indeed, it should not be forgotten that the units in question require periodic maintenance, and need to be arranged in such a manner as to limit the inconvenience caused by the noise of their internal combustion engine.
As can be seen, there are some important technical aspects which must necessarily be taken into account when installing on pleasure boats the units which generate electric power.
Thus, arises the need for increasing the functional potential of these operating units, in order to obtain the maximum benefit from the power which they produce and the on board resources (space, various infrastructure elements, etc.) Necessary for their utilization and operation.
In this context it just matters to be reminded that on the boats every element must be designed in order to obtain the best possible result, with weights and overall dimensions reduced to the essential minimum: nor are the units which generate electric power therefore an exception to this principle.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to fulfill this need. Such an object is fulfilled by an operating unit comprising an internal combustion engine coupled to a machine for producing electric power (an alternator if it is alternating current, or a dynamo if it is direct current), in which there is at least one container wherein sea water from outside the boat is made to circulate.
This container has numerous advantageous effects including: preventing any possible damage to the diesel engine in the case of blocking up of the sea intake for the cooling water, being used as a heat exchanger for cooling the condenser of an air conditioning system, supplying water to the pump of a desalination apparatus, and other purposes, which facilitate the optimum utilization of the energy produced by the operating unit itself and provide for a more rational use of the space occupied as a whole by the various items of in board equipment, which operate with said energy.
The characterizing features of the invention are set out in the claims appended to this description.